We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob

The 2025 World Series, featuring the LA Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays will commence on Friday, October 24. The Dodgers will be pursuing the historic feat of winning two consecutive titles, which has not been accomplished by a National League team since the Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds of 1975-1976. The 1998–2000) NY Yankees were the last team in either league to win consecutive WS.

In my view winning consecutive WS has become considerably more difficult than it was prior to the advent of wild card teams. Thanks to the current format in which three wildcard teams from each league make the playoffs it has become rare for the team with the best regular season record to win the WS. In this century it has only been done seven times – the 2007 Red Sox, the 2009 Yankees, the 2013 Red Sox, the 2016 Cubs, the 2018 Red Sox and the 2020 and 2024 Dodgers. That’s roughly 25%, which I consider to be a low number.

Why is that? There are various reasons, but I maintain that the primary reason is the nature of the game, itself. Normally, it takes many more than seven games for the best team to assert itself. Even the best teams will lose 60 games over the course of the season. Even the best teams will suffer through short slumps where they could lose three or four in a row. With the current multilayer playoff format the ultimate winner will have to win three or four short series. It has become common for a team to slump at the wrong time and lose a short three or five game series to an inferior team. Then it’s Sayonara.

This is the format the Lords of Baseball want. More playoff games mean more money. They don’t care. They will live with hottest team winning the WS rather than the season’s best team.

The Dodgers’ franchise was born in 1883. It joined the newly organized National League in 1890. Before being known as the Dodgers, the team was known, at various times, as the Atlantics, the Bridegrooms, the Grooms, the Superbas, the Robins, and the Trolley-Dodgers (a reference to the complex maze of trolley cars that existed in Brooklyn during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name, Trolley-Dodgers, was shortened to Dodgers in 1898.

The Blue Jays began operations in 1977 as an American League expansion team. Toronto had been mentioned as a potential major league franchise as early as the 1880s. From 1896 to 1967 the city had a franchise in the International League called the Maple Leafs. In January 1976, the San Francisco Giants seriously considered relocating to Toronto but did not.

My research disclosed two stories regarding the derivation of the team’s name “Blue Jays.” In one version the team held a “name the team” contest. The leading suggestion was “Blue Jays.” Another version holds that the name was selected by Labatt Breweries, which was the majority owner of the team at the time. Apparently, this name tied in with the name of Labatt’s feature brand at the time, Labatt Blue. The team’s primary color of blue adhered to the tradition of Toronto-based sports teams having that color.

The Blue Jays have appeared in the World Series twice, in 1992 and 1993, winning both. In 1992 they defeated the Atlanta Braves, and in 1993 they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies.

Baseball, which until recently was known as the National Pastime, is no longer the most popular sport in America. Most surveys place it second behind football, or even further down the list. However, there is something about the sport that still resonates. It gets in your blood. It is part of the social and cultural fabric of America. Who can forget their first game of “catch” with their father or the first MLB game they attended? For many of us the WS holds a special place in our memories. For many years the games were played during the day while fans were in school or at work. They would diligently try to ascertain the score from someone who had a radio. I can remember many a time when I raced home from school to catch the end of a WS game.

I was fortunate to attend game 2 of the 1956 WS with my father. As an 11-year-old it was a huge thrill. To this day I have a more detailed recollection of that game than of games I saw only weeks ago. For instance, I remember the Dodger starter, Don Newcombe, got knocked out early. The Dodgers fell behind 6-0, but they rallied to win 13-8. Duke Snider, my favorite Dodger, hit a crucial homer. As an added bonus initially, the game was postponed because of heavy rain. It was made up the next day, so I got to miss two days of school.

The Dodgers have been pioneers in many areas. For instance, they were the first team to:

1. appear on tv (1939),
2. wear helmets (1941), and
3. most significantly, play an African American (Jackie Robinson in 1947).

In addition, I would be remiss if I did not mention that the team employed the same announcer, Vince Scully, for a record 67 years. Many people consider Scully to be the best baseball announcer ever and having watched and listened to him for most of those 67 years, I would be hard-pressed to argue with that assessment.

The Brooklyn Dodgers had many outstanding teams, most notably “The Boys of Summer” teams of the late 1940s – mid 1950s. Those teams were replete with Hall of Famers such as Peewee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider and Roy Campanella. During the ten-year period from 1947-1956 those teams won six pennants and lost another in a playoff. Unfortunately, they were only able to win one WS in 1955. The Dodgers of that era had very strong teams, but they just couldn’t beat the Yankees in the WS. They lost to the Yankees every year except for 1955. The Yankees weren’t necessarily better; they just played better in the WS. After each loss frustrated Dodgers fans would lament “wait until next year.” Finally, in 1955 “next year” came, and the “Bums” as they were affectionally known prevailed in seven games. The next day the headline in the NY Daily News boldly proclaimed, “Who’s a Bum?!” That was the only championship the Dodgers won in Brooklyn. The Dodgers have had better results in LA. They have won seven WS since relocating there in 1958.

During this period fans were treated to classic moments such as Jackie Robinson stealing home in Game 1 in 1955 and Don Larsen’s perfect game in game five in 1956. A photo of Robinson’s steal is on display at the Baseball HOF. To his dying day Yankees catcher Yogi Berra insisted he was out. In those pre-instant replay days, it was hard to know for sure. The umpire said he was safe, so he was safe. In the WS despite the presence of superstars often it is the role players that have emerged as heroes. For example, Sandy Amoros was a little-used bench player for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who made a game-saving catch in the 7th inning of the 7th game of the 1955 WS. Amoros was only in the game as a result of a “double switch” (remember in those days pitchers actually batted).

As incredible as Larsen’s feat was it was enhanced by the fact that he was not a superstar pitcher like say Whitey Ford, Sal Maglie or Sandy Koufax. A perfect game by one of those pitchers would have been plausible, but Larsen was a journeyman. He pitched for seven teams in 15 years and had a career record of 81-91, although he had gone 11-5 in 1956. Furthermore, the 1956 Dodgers’ lineup was “stacked.” It was just an example of a pedestrian player catching “lightning in a bottle” in the WS.

In some 60 years of watching the WS I have been fortunate to witness several other memorable moments, such as Carlton Fisk’s 12th inning homerun just inside the foul pole in the 12th inning of game 6 in 1975, Reggie Jackson’s four consecutive homers in the 1977 WS, and Kirk Gibson’s game winning homerun off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley in game 1 of the 1988 WS. Many of you will recall Fisk standing at Homeplate watching his hit and waving his arms as if to “push” his homerun ball “fair.” Alas, the Reds won the WS the next day. So much for momentum.

Jackson, whose feat earned him the sobriquet “Mr. October,” was an obnoxious loudmouth who upon first arriving at the star-studded Yankees boldly proclaimed he was the “straw that stirred the drink.” This was a direct insult aimed at the Yankees’ popular captain Thurman Munson, but Jackson didn’t care. He doubled down by adding that “Munson can only stir it bad.” But he had a flair for the dramatic, and he sure could hit. He fit in perfectly with the “Bronx Zoo” Yankees teams of the late 1970s. As I recall Jackson hit the homers in four consecutive swings against four different Dodger pitchers (one in his last at-bat in game 5 and then three in game 6. (Don’t fact-check me on this. A memory is a memory.)

Gibson wasn’t supposed to play. He was injured and could barely walk. Yet, he hit the homer and then literally limped round the bases. Then, there was iconic announcer Jack Buck’s famous call on the radio, “I don’t believe what I just saw.” To tell you the truth, neither did I.

Conclusion

This year, on paper we have two deserving teams. No Cinderellas with mediocre regular season records who got “hot” at the right time. Toronto will host the extra home game, but the Dodgers are the betting favorites. One team may get the upper hand and win in a short series, but I expect a long series with many memorable moments.

As a lifelong Dodgers fan I admit to a bias, but I feel that if both teams bring their “A” game the Dodgers will win.

Dodgers in 6.

This was Part 1 of my WS blog. Part2 will be a WS quiz to test your knowledge and recollections.